Viewing the gameplay demonstration of Dead Space 3at Electronic Arts' E3 keynote, my immediate reaction was "Well, that looks like a game I can play without dookieing on myself." Others didn't have such a positive reaction.

EA just showed off Dead Space 3, which, as expected, will have a cooperative multiplayer mode.
Read more Read more

Frank Gibeau, the president of EA Labels told CVG that he's heard the noise and that they "definitely do not want to piss off our fans" by toning down the horror content in Dead Space 3.

Advertisement

Advertisement

However, he then used the A-word—"We tried to open up the accessibility of the IP a little bit by adding a little bit more action," he said, "but not undermining the horror."

My guess is that the fans will be the judge of that when the game releases. Judging from instant reactions, what they saw at E3 looked largely like another gory shooter or action game with giant, marginally threatening monsters. I think the planetside setting does plenty to blot out the creepy factor. Cooperative multiplayer also gives it a feel familiar to non-survival horror shooters.

I mean, I think it's great that I might be able to play a so-called horror game without crapping in my britches. But then, I have not watched a horror flick since Steven Spielberg and Jack Valenti ruined my childhood with a PG-rated Poltergeist. I'm capable of freaking myself out just by reading The Amityville Horror's Wikipedia entry. So I have not played Dead Space or its sequel, and I'm pretty sure my opinion of it matters little here.